More Mali (1b) And even the NDP likes the idea? “As the lone Canadian C-17 aircraft continues its week-long mission in Mali, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Paul Dewar called for an extension of the Canadian mission in Mali Monday …. With only days left for the mission, Dewar told iPolitics Monday that Canada needs to stay engaged in Mali. However, he said that if Canada is to extend the mission, there must be more parliamentary involvement to debate how a longer mission would unfold ….”

More Mali (3) ceasefire.ca’s latest take“The West’s intervention to overthrow Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi in 2011 was one of the triggers of the current war in Mali, and as Canada’s role in Mali slowly grows, the danger of being drawn further into a spreading West African conflict also grows ….”

More Mali (4) rabble.ca columnist’s take“…. As for France’s interest in Mali, its record over many years speaks for itself. Caveat emptor, Mr. Baird. Have you yet been briefed on France’s remarkable history in Africa? Do you not find it just a bit off-putting that yet another French socialist president has now decided to save Africa, if possible with our help? It raises an intriguing question: How long would it take AQIM — al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the target this week of French forces in Mali — to kill as many Africans as France has done, directly or indirectly, over the years? ….”

More Mali (5) Conservative Senator’s take“…. If there is any lesson to draw from the Afghanistan experience and the challenges in Africa, it is that looking away always costs more in lives, treasure and security than facing evil head on and having the capacity to do so. The “responsibility to protect” is meaningless without the capacity to deploy and will to intervene.”

Algeria (1b) “…. Ottawa has not been able to confirm reports that Canadians were involved in the four-day siege. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Monday his department is investigating. “We can’t confirm the accuracy of these reports. But what we are doing, our embassy in Algiers and our team in Ottawa are working to try to verify these informations and get the names of these alleged Canadians. But we can’t report anything official at this time,” Baird told CTV News Channel ….” – more here

Chinooks a step closer to flying in Canada’s skies“It has been 21 years since the distinctive ‘wokka-wokka’ sound of Canadian Chinooks was last heard in Canadian skies. This year, however, the big, tandem-rotor, heavy-lift helicopters will be heard once again, especially over Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, Ont. This time, though, Petawawa will not simply be a waypoint for the Chinooks while en route to tasks in support of the Canadian Army; it will be the permanent home for the new fleet of CH-147F Chinook helicopters ….” – more from the RCAF Info-machine here

“For the second time the federal government is appealing a court decision requiring it to fully consult with Treaty One First Nations in Manitoba before selling the Kapyong Barracks site. A spokeswoman for the Defence Department said the government filed its appeal late Friday afternoon. “The main grounds for appeal are that the Federal Court judge made errors in law with respect to what he ordered and his analysis of the duty to consult,” said Kathleen Guillot. This will indefinitely extend the legal battle over the 160 acres of prime real estate at Kenaston Boulevard and Grant Avenue, which has now lasted more than five years. Jeff Rath, the lawyer for Peguis First Nation, one of the Treaty One bands, said he was surprised Ottawa is appealing because he says in court the government admitted it did have a duty to consult the First Nations on the sale of Kapyong, at least when it came to Peguis. He said the government’s argument is that it fulfilled that duty, but the judge in the case disagreed. “To me it just seems the Crown is simply trying to delay the inevitable,” said Rath. In 2004, the Princess Patricia Light Infantry Unit abandoned the barracks to move west to Shilo, Man. Three years later, the federal government declared the barracks land surplus and moved to sell it to the Canada Lands Company for $8.6 million. CLC, a Crown corporation that redevelops surplus federal land, planned a mix of homes and businesses on the site. But the seven Treaty One First Nations argue a 1997 agreement gave them the right of first refusal when surplus federal land become available, to fulfill outstanding land entitlements from the 1871 Treaty One. Shortly after Ottawa moved to sell the land, the seven Treaty One First Nations went to court to stop it ….”